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Oregon Religious Leaders Voice Opposition to Death Penalty

On October 16, 2013, fifteen leaders of Oregon's religious communities gathered at First United Methodist Church in Portland to voice their opposition to Oregon's death penalty and present their reasons for advocating its abolition. The convocation and dinner was sponsored by Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO).

We hope you will carefully consider this powerful collection of moral and practical reasons for opposition to capital punishment.

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Common Questions

Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Oregon. The first execution under the territorial government was in 1851. Capital punishment was made explicitly legal by statute in 1864, and executions have been carried out exclusively at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem since 1904. The death penalty was outlawed between 1914 and 1920, again between 1964 and 1978, and then again between a 1981 Oregon Supreme Court ruling and a 1984 ballot measure. Since 1904, about 60 individuals have been executed in Oregon. Aggravated murder is the only crime subject to the penalty of death under Oregon law.